


Another Hand On The Compass

by FunkyinFishnet



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Ambition, F/M, Multi, Relationship(s), Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-10-01 15:59:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10193495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkyinFishnet/pseuds/FunkyinFishnet
Summary: Summer Rae hasn't been on TV for a while but she's been busy. She has a private partner and she networks and knows how to turn around every problem. She knows that dance. She has plans for Sami Zayn.





	

 

 

 

_How’s he looking?_

 

_He’s wearing the jacket._

 

_And the hat?_

 

_Mmm. It’s like his super power to look good in all of that. He’s with the fans right now._

 

_That smile, man. He's still not answering his phone. Did you see Foley's tweets?_

 

_So much garbage. I’ll get a photo_

 

Sami was bending down to talk to a little girl holding a Sami Zayn sign and looking so overwhelmed and cute. It was adorable. Adrian was going to love it. Sami's fan power; Summer couldn't wait to harness it. She took a selfie too, the sun making her hair look even better and her skin even more incredible, and sent both to Adrian. He sent a very complimentary reply.

 

Summer took photos with the fans and signed autographs and caught up with Sami as he made his way into the venue, tucking her arm through his. He turned in surprise and actually blushed when he saw who it was. God, he was adorable. Summer squeezed his arm and dipped closer to see him blush more.

 

“Miss me?”

 

“Of course,” Sami replied, his smile so sweet and honest and yes, he blushed more too as his phone beeped and he silenced it with a look that Summer was going to capitalize on. “Did you, um, miss me too?”

 

Oh my God, he was trying to flirt back. Summer wanted to take so many photos. Adrian was going to love this. Summer made sure her hair swung close enough to touch Sami as she smiled.

 

“Of course.”

 

Sami looked like he was going to say something else but then they were inside the venue and there was a really loud laugh from Kevin. He and Jericho were sat together and Jericho had his list out and they were both doing something to their phones. Sami’s jaw tensed right up and his steps got slower like he couldn’t help it. He’d never confirmed anything but Summer knew an ex situation when she saw it.

 

She knew how to play them perfectly too. She tugged on Sami’s arm, laughing. His eyes were kind of glazed when he looked back. Oh, baby. She and Adrian had so much work to do.

 

“Come on, I want to hear all about the Rumble. You were awesome out there, I can't believe they made you fight for a spot.”

 

She didn’t look at Kevin or Jericho; she didn’t many any rookie mistakes. Sami looked at her like she was speaking a totally different language but Summer kept her smile and squeezed his arm and he stumbled into talking about Braun and how tough those few weeks had been and then the Rumble. It didn't sound like he even saw how much he was being disrespected by Foley. But Summer had seen his frustration when Foley had tried standing between him and Braun. Sami didn't act on it or flaunt it but he definitely saw the attitude management had towards him.

 

Summer kept close and walked with Sami all the way to one of the guys’ locker rooms, making arrangements to meet him in catering later.

 

As soon as she found a really quiet girls’ locker room, she got her spot staked out and called Adrian.

 

*

 

Of course, once they turned up, none of the girls wanted to talk to Summer. Apparently she was poison – poison who’d gotten to star in a movie and had just come back from a serious injury. But oh no, let’s all talk about Nikki’s neck injury and how amazing her recovery was. Summer’s didn’t matter? Whatever. Summer owned every single one of the sneers sent her way by Sasha (who wouldn’t exist without Summer, by the way), and now Dana and Nia were acting like they should scrape her off their shoes, like  _she_ was the rookie here? Summer had been NXT before those latercomers had owned a name worth knowing. At least the girls at the Performance Centre knew how to treat her.

 

She knew how to play this too.

 

So, after making sure she looked her absolute best – gold would always be her color and she had worked really hard to get into even more fantastic shape once her injury had allowed it, Summer flipped her hair and made a picture-perfect exit.

 

“Oh please, talk to me when the fans and the office actually know who you are.”

 

Catering was waiting.

 

Outside the locker room, she took a moment to stare at her phone screen. She was still amazing. She’d risen above all of this before and she’d do it again. Because she was Summer Rae; she had a super successful brand and the only support that mattered. She deserved way better than that atmosphere.

 

She texted Adrian,  _When you get a champion’s private locker room, I’m using it._

 

_They haven’t shown me that respect yet. Universal Champ gets his own. I’m not given any of what I’m due._

 

_There’s NO respect here. Dana Brooke actually told me I needed to ‘get in line’._

 

_She needs to be taught her place._

 

_Oh, she will._

 

*

 

Catering was always busy and there was Sami, already eating lunch, looking at his phone pensively. There was a glass of juice at his elbow and oh, he’d gotten her one too. Summer smiled and went to fill a plate, neatly avoiding the trailing leg that a seated Dana tried to trip her with. Summer had studied dance and played a lot of lingerie bowls; she knew how to stay light on her feet and look fabulous doing it.

 

She smirked; Dana was fuming, she just knew it. Summer glanced around as she sashayed across the room toward Sami’s table; yeah, there it was, and there was Adrian, keeping himself separate from the idiots who treated him like he was some kind of outcast for voicing how disrespected he’d been and for taking the gold he’d always deserved. He looked so good; the goatee really worked on him, and Summer had always liked him in dark colors. They didn’t acknowledge each other; they were way smarter than that. God, Summer couldn’t wait to spend time with him again.

 

And Sami was watching her, his mouth drawn up in sweet amusement. His eyes were all lit up too. It was just the sweetest. Summer’s smirk relaxed into a smile as she took the seat he’d saved for her with his coat. The plaid lining made her smile even more and she hung it on the back of her chair.

 

“You just…” Sami trailed off.

 

Summer grinned, starting on her lunch. She knew how good her walk was. This was not the first time a guy had lost the power of speech because of it. Still, she swirled her fork through sauce and looked up through her eyelashes, enjoying the way Sami shook his head. She knew Adrian would enjoy it too.

 

“I just…what?”

 

Sami still looked amused, even as his neck went pink. “I think you know.”

 

“Well, yeah, but I wanna hear you say it.”

 

Sami laughed and pushed a juice towards her. Summer made sure their fingers touched and knew, because she always knew when people were looking at her, that someone else was staring now too. A casual glance told her that Adrian was watching in the kind of way that meant no one else had noticed and so was Kevin Owens, only he was being really obvious. He was looking at her like he thought she was an idiot but please, she knew jealousy when she saw it. And possessiveness. Summer made sure her glance slid right off of him like he didn’t even matter (he didn’t) and slipped her foot around Sami’s ankle and up the back of his shin. Sami almost coughed up a mouthful of lunch.

 

Summer hoped Adrian was still watching.

 

*

 

_He’s got a hair trigger. We'll have so much fun with that._

 

_He's still not answering. He doesn't get it._

 

_He's hiding from it. We won't let him._

 

_No, we won't._

 

*

 

A couple of shows later, Summer exited make-up, looking extra flawless and finishing up a text conversation with Daria who had so much to say about the Performance Centre, while thinking about the plans she had that night with Adrian as well how cute Sami had looked when she’d kissed the edge of his mouth when greeting him that morning, when a really unwelcome voice interrupted.

 

“Are you wearing one of my scarves?”

 

Chris Jericho was stood over by some packing crates, his list in his hand and a sneer on his face that was so unattractive, it was unreal. Kevin was right there too and they were both looking at Summer like the girls in the locker rooms did. Summer stared right back, one hand touching the gorgeous pale pink scarf she was wearing. It had gold fringe and was so soft and looked great against her coloring. Adrian knew how to buy gifts.

 

“Oh please, like I shop at Sears.”

 

Jericho scribbled something on his list. Summer thought about lending him her gel pens, at least that way the list would look better than it’s author. But Jericho did not have the look of someone who knew the right way to treat a gel pen. Summer really wanted her name picked out in gold though.

 

“You know, you shouldn’t even bother putting her on the list. She doesn’t do anything here, nothing that anyone outside of TMZ’s interested in.”

 

That was Kevin. Summer rolled her eyes and shifted her weight to one leg, so that her hip-huggers looked especially great. It was so hilarious that Kevin thought those kinds of jibes would hurt her. Clearly, the women’s locker rooms prepared you way better for this kind of encounter that the men’s did.

 

“Whereas you guys clearly need a visit from the fashion police.”

 

Tyler had left Summer a long message about how hideous the Raw roster looked and how he and Fandango had so many warrants to serve at the next shared pay-per-view. He looked so good in that uniform. Fandango did too but he and Summer didn’t talk. He knew how important Summer was to Tyler and Summer, well, she’d been sent photos of how hot Tyler and Fandango looked together. They just weren’t as hot together as Summer and Tyler had been, and Summer and Fandango. It was possible to deal with an ex in, like, a peaceful way. Clearly, Kevin had no clue how to make anything other than war. It was so unattractive.

 

“Oh, that’s a good one, seeing as I have the best accessory right here.” Kevin thumped a hand across his Universal title, hung over his shoulder, his eyes cold despite his smug mocking tone. “And you’ve got? What? Nothing. No TV time, two exes dressing like the Village People and dating each other. That’s got to be humiliating.”

 

Jericho laughed and nodded. Summer sighed like, God, she was surrounded by idiots. Did they actually think they were hurting her? At all? This was what they thought was hilarious. God, they were lucky they could wrestle. She had a spa day coming up with Tyler and she could not wait. He always chose the best mud masks and there’d be pedicures and yeah, it was going to be awesome. Summer was getting wrinkles just listening to Kevin and Jericho.

 

“Not as humiliating as being stuck in a shark cage above the ring,” she replied pointedly at Jericho who spluttered about piñatas and being sexy, whatever, as Summer turned her casual attention back to Kevin like she had way more important things to do (she did). “Are we done? Some of us have important meetings to get to, brands to extend, dates to go on…”

 

She wasn’t going to mention Sami at all. Kevin could do all the mental math he wanted. His eyes were still cold and yes, he was really intimidating but Summer stood her ground. She had faced Charlotte and Sasha at the same time, she had been humiliated on national television (she couldn’t wait to be Layla’s bridesmaid). Life tried to grind her under its heel but Summer always turned it into her next latin walk in a fantastic pair of pumps.

 

Kevin eyeballed her like she’d burst into tears because of it. Summer just looked bored and when Kevin didn’t say anything, she walked away, her heels clicking in perfect time. That sound was going to run through Kevin’s head and annoy him all day. Good.

 

*

 

Sami looked exhausted, even without the hideous hotel bar lighting. He was being given garbage matches, even after his amazing performance at the Rumble and jumping through all the hoops Foley had ordered him through. Sami had been closest of anyone to actually defeating Braun Strowman and, like, that was forgotten now? Because he was ‘just’ an underdog? Adrian knew all about the power of that totem. It was Sami’s now.

 

Sami’s phone was going off again. Summer smiled, paying for his drink and so glad he'd agreed to meet her. This was it.

 

“You should talk to him,” she said, handing Sami his glass of Canadian microbrew. “Adrian really wants to hear from you.”

 

Sami blinked at her for a moment, clearly completely floored, as Summer made herself comfortable opposite him. She was in purple tonight, accented by gold jewelry and spike-heels. This dress held a lot of good dancing memories for her. She sipped her wine with a smile.

 

“Have you…have you been looking at my phone?” asked Sami with a confused frown, because he knew she hadn’t been.

 

Summer totally could have picked his pocket though. She’d learned a lot at FCW and NXT, especially how much amazing networking could be done in small places. It was the best of dance steps. There was Daria and Aaliyah who had such great ears and at least two tag teams Summer still worked out with regularly and who kept her updated on the Performance Centre too because the future could be shaped now. And there was Solomon who'd been a real help in getting Adrian in and out of venues for his return. He loved causing chaos anonymously, especially from this far away. Summer owed him the best home-delivered steak (blue, with a bucket of fries and slaw. He was lucky his skin was always so naturally great).

 

Instead of answering Sami’s non-question, she retrieved her own phone – it had gold accents too – and found just the right photo to slide across the table for his eyes only. It’d been taken early one morning, when the sun had been like paradise through the window and there was Summer, framed by the view and the light and with Adrian pressed up against her, his head resting just under her chin. Their colorings were such an amazing contrast together.

 

Sami went really pink and he wasn’t drooling but he was totally close to it. Summer’s foot touched his, just lightly to start with. He had a lot going on right now.

 

Sami’s gaze darted up to Summer but he didn’t seem able to actually form words so Summer filled the silence, taking her phone out of his slack fingers.

 

“The view was so good there. And my tan has never been better. I think we got his best side, you know?”

 

Sami took a huge swallow of beer before finally managing to reply, his tone low and completely wrecked. It was gorgeous; Summer couldn’t wait to be the cause.

 

“You and Adrian?”

 

“Mmm hmmm.” Sami’s phone beeped again and Summer nodded towards it. “Seriously, you should answer. He’s so great at phone sex.”

 

If it was possible for Sami’s eyes to go any wider, they did right now. “What are you guys doing?”

 

Summer’s smile was a little filthy, to match how her foot was travelling up Sami’s leg. “To you? Nothing yet. But there’s a lot of ideas.”

 

She didn’t say that she knew about his bond with Adrian. Neither of them had ever acted on it, seeing as Adrian had left NXT for the main roster right when it might have been kindled up into something really hot. She didn’t say that she and Adrian had seen how disrespected Sami was on the main roster, how he was treated like a joke, how he didn’t get the matches or title shots he deserved.

 

Sami was looking at her in sheer disbelief; like he didn’t expect two really hot successful people to be interested in him. Oh, baby, so much work to do. She rested her hand against his. His fingers were cold from the beer and he was looking at her like he couldn’t even think about looking away.

 

“Adrian and I were both NXT and we know what it’s like to not be treated the way we deserve.”

 

Sami’s fingers drew back a little and his eyes shuttered. “Look, I’m not going to go against my principals just because times are tough.”

 

Of course he wouldn’t. Sami got pushed so hard and he never changed his tactics. How could he not think that after all these months, a change was needed? Look at what it’d done for Adrian. It was going to do wonders for Summer too. Summer smiled and didn’t try to pull his hand close again.

 

“Of course not. But we’re not going to apologize for our choices or regret them. Adrian has gold and the spotlight he deserves. I have plans. We’re saying you deserve everything you haven’t got right now and that clearly, no one on Raw wants to give you. And that is not the only reason I’m here and Adrian’s calling you.”

 

Sami looked skeptical now, like they couldn’t be interested without underhanded motives. Oh, those were important too. The three of them, covertly and on camera, would be  **unstoppable** together.

 

Summer produced a hotel keycard from her purse and slid it under Sami’s fingers. “We have a room here.”

 

“We…”

 

“We.”

 

Summer smiled and sat back to finish her wine. It hadn’t gotten too warm yet. The lights in the hotel bar were glinting off of her dress. Adrian was so close by. But this was important too. Sami did not deserve to be alone or constantly eaten up by what Kevin had done to him. Sure, Summer and Adrian knew that was going to stay with Sami forever. But there could be other really good stuff too. Sami just had to change his perspective.

 

Sami was staring down at the glossy surface of the card and then back up at Summer, his disbelief still so clear. Summer toyed with her phone and found just the right text messages to show Sami – a conversation between herself and Adrian, as hot as their phone sex and all about Sami. Sami went the darkest shade of pink yet.

 

“You’re serious,” Sami managed.

 

Summer rose gracefully to her feet, her empty glass standing alone on the table. “Of course.”

 

She kissed his cheek and left him at the table, her purse in hand. She and Adrian loved this hotel. It was so much better than anything the WWE bought out for employees. Adrian and Summer knew what they were worth.

 

In the lobby, she pressed the button to call the elevator and sent a message to Adrian.

 

_I wonder if Sami blushes all over. It really suits him._

 

_He liked the photo?_

 

_And our conversation about him._

 

_Which one?_

 

_Last week._

 

_That was a good night. I’ve got that wine you like. We have the room for as long as we need it._

 

Summer’s smile was so very satisfied. Adrian knew how to treat a lady. Better yet, he knew how to treat Summer. Whatever Sami decided after this, he was going to be thinking about Adrian and Summer and Summer's words. How could he not? Summer and Adrian were making things happen and people were going to notice. And they looked **great** together. Sami deserved that too.

 

When the elevator arrived, Summer wasn't alone. Sami stepped into it beside her. He was fiddling with the keycard, the cutest frown on his face as the doors closed. But he didn't resist when Summer pressed him against the mirrored wall and finally kissed him, just like she knew he wouldn't. The way he responded, his need (for so much) was so obvious. Summer was gaining his blush all over again, only she could feel it now too. She smiled into the kiss. Adrian was going to love it. She took a photo.

 

_-the end_

 


End file.
